Courtesy
by jessara40k
Summary: Set in my Cetra Restoration AU between the early chapters of Affection. When Cloud accepts an invitation from one of his nobles who disapproves of his choice of consorts it leads to an awkward evening for Sephiroth.


"Sephiroth, what's wrong?" It wasn't really a surprise that Aeris caught his nerves, even if he had tried to hide them his sister was too empathic for that to work.

"Arvan's invitation to Cloud didn't specifically include me, and he's one of the nobles who had issues with my scent." And he was still cold towards Sephiroth, even if he was never rude enough outright to give Cloud a reason to declare feud. He shivered and dabbed a touch more of the cinnamon oil above his navel and behind his ears, not enough to seem excessive, but more than he normally wore, covering his natural scent more than usual.

"Sephiroth, you _know_ that consorts don't usually get specific invitations." A gentle hand on his forearm halted Sephiroth's fiddling, and Aeris' other hand rested against his cheek, keeping his attention on her. "It's expected that any noble with a consort will bring him unless he's specifically excluded. Isis taught us all that."

"And there's limited circumstances where that's permissible, I know. It's just...this is the first invitation Cloud's accepted that _didn't_ specifically mention me." It made Sephiroth nervous, especially as Cloud had only accepted this particular invitation because the triumvirate had urged him to be less...selective in the invitations he'd accepted. All the other gatherings Cloud had attended had been primarily _social_ events, or at least that was how Cloud had treated them, as compared to the political gatherings he held here; this time there was no doubt in Sephiroth's mind that Cloud's acceptance of Arvan's invitation was political.

"It will be fine. Cloud will take care of you, and if it's too bad you can get him to bring you home after an hour or so for people to see that you've both attended." Sephiroth didn't think it would be that easy but he forced a smile, running his fingers through his hair.

"I suppose I can. But I should get dressed now. I think it's important that I look my best for this." He would feel better that way, knowing that he _looked_ the part of Cloud's consort; that Arvan and his friends would see that Sephiroth was a credit to Cloud.

"Well if _you_ think you need to make an effort to look good it must be important." Aeris' smile told him that she was only teasing, but Sephiroth still blushed, embarrassed by the knowledge of how uncomfortable the primping and preening expected from a consort made him.

"It's just..." Sephiroth shrugged one shoulder as he reached for his clothes. "I don't think there'll be many people I know there, who'll at least pretend to treat me with respect because I belong to Cloud, and I'd feel better if at least there was nothing to criticise in my appearance."

"There won't be." Determination echoed in Aeris' voice, determination and something else Sephiroth couldn't name. "There never is, and it isn't just what I do for you. I've seen the way you assess your appearance before you meet Cloud. Anyway, didn't Cloud say he was going to make sure you had Morgan with you?"

"Yes." If Arvan didn't take offence at it and wasn't willing to be rude enough to refuse Cloud when he explained. "But it's not the same. I can't just stay with Cloud or Morgan all the time, not without it reflecting badly on Cloud. And I know that I'll outrank any other consorts there, but..." He wasn't entirely certain that would keep them from being rude to him, not when he knew how low an opinion the nobles there would likely have of him.

"If it's upsetting you this much I know that Cloud would cancel if you asked him to." That was enough to make Sephiroth stop complaining and push his doubts aside for his determination _not_ to shame Cloud.

"No. And don't suggest it to him either. I won't have him embarrass himself by being so rude for my sake."

"If that's what you want. Here, do your nails while I work on your hair." Aeris guided Sephiroth to sit at his dresser, picking up the brush as she spoke. "I think it's dry enough now."

"Probably. The dark blue?" Sephiroth reached for the bottle of nail polish he meant, tilting it to bring it to Aeris' attention.

"No, the turquoise I think." Aeris swapped the bottle he'd chosen for the one she'd named and turned her attention back to his hair as Sephiroth opened the bottle of base coat.

oxOX()XOxo

Cloud dismounted first, only just before Morgan did, and went to help Sephiroth down from his chocobo.

"Thank you." Sephiroth smiled slightly at Cloud as he spoke, eyes downcast and voice soft and Cloud waited for a moment, expecting his usual follow-up.

"You're not going to tell me that I don't need to do this for you?" He didn't try to hide his surprise, and it was only when he'd finished speaking that it occurred to him that Sephiroth might misinterpret it as displeasure.

"No, I'm not going to be insolent about a traditional courtesy where people who serve someone you don't quite trust will see and hear it." Sephiroth's voice was still quiet, but he looked up, glancing at the men waiting to take their chocobos before returning his attention to Cloud. Was that how Sephiroth had interpreted his reluctance to accept Arvan's invitation? Well, there was enough truth in it. Maybe more than Cloud wanted to acknowledge himself, or he wouldn't have decided to insist on Morgan attending Sephiroth throughout the party.

"I appreciate your discretion then." He lifted Sephiroth's hand to his lips, turning it so that he could kiss the inside of his wrist, pleased to see how his eyelids fluttered as he drew in a steadying breath. "Morgan, would you like to precede us?"

"Thank you Cloud." It was good to see that his own guard didn't object to the implied precedence he'd given to _Sephiroth's_ guard, and Cloud watched in approval as Morgan directed them with subtle signals, mostly just body language, before going up to the servant - no, to the slave - who was waiting to lead them to Arvan's party.

Cloud guided Sephiroth with a hand at the small of his back, once they'd handed their cloaks over to be kept for them, pausing when they reached their destination while the woman who'd led them there spoke to the doorkeeper.

"Cloud Strife, the Planet's Weapon and Champion, with his consort Sephiroth." The rest of his guard hung back, but he could feel Morgan following them both through the door, and from the look on Arvan's face as he came to greet the two of them he wasn't particularly welcome.

"My warrior liege." Arvan was almost ignoring Sephiroth to hold his hands out for Cloud's greeting, but he allowed the noble to grip his own forearms in return anyway.

"Arvan." He didn't say anything else, letting Arvan do the work of guiding the conversation if he could - after all he was the host here. Cloud wondered if Arvan really believed he wouldn't notice the way he steeled himself before turning to Sephiroth and lifted those offered hands towards his face for a bare brush of the lips. And he didn't actually greet Sephiroth aloud, a small discourtesy, but enough of one that Cloud felt justified in his intentions.

"Amber can show your guards where to wait until you leave." Arvan's voice carried well enough that he had to be speaking to Cloud's guard, as well as to him, so Cloud responded in kind, and got Sephiroth out of the line of fire.

"Thank you. Sephiroth, you go on ahead with Morgan. I'll find you later."

"Thank you Cloud." There seemed to have been some sort of segregation, conscious or otherwise, among the guests who'd already arrived, and Cloud watched as Sephiroth headed for the area with most consorts, with Morgan following him. Arvan was watching them too, a faintly sour look on his face, and Cloud decided to _assume_ it was because of Morgan's presence.

"It's somewhat rude to bring a guest who wasn't invited." The oblique comment _could_ have referred to Sephiroth, but considering that Cloud's invitation hadn't specifically _excluded_ Sephiroth - and that if it had he would have had grounds to challenge Arvan to a duel once he arrived and saw that Sephiroth had been the _only_ consort excluded - he would assume Arvan had taken offence at Morgan's presence. And that was justified, more than justified in view of the implied insult.

"Morgan isn't here as a guest, and I do apologise for implying that your security arrangements might in any way be inadequate, but there was a problem when Sephiroth was out shopping yesterday, and I hope you understand why I'm concerned." He silently dared Arvan to say otherwise, or demand that Cloud call Morgan back. He'd almost rather challenge him to do so aloud, but his rank had insulated him from any need to learn how to twist his words in the poisonous way Isis used to hurt Sephiroth so often, and if he gave in to that temptation he'd be blunt enough that Arvan would be justified in demanding they all leave.

"I can't really understand, since I don't have a consort of my own, but everyone knows you claim a soul resonance with your war prize." Was that a hint of doubt there? Cloud wasn't sure what Arvan meant by calling Sephiroth a war prize, but he wasn't going to let _anyone_ question how much his consort meant to him.

"Our soul resonance was confirmed before Sephiroth was designated as my promised consort, and before he was permitted to vow himself to me." Cloud shrugged and walked into the room, forcing Arvan to follow him if he wanted to continue the conversation.

"I understood that confirming a soul resonance was a difficult and painful process."

"Yes, but I was six. And after how much Sephiroth risked to aid the Restoration it would hardly be fair to bind him to me on the basis of what might well have been a child's whim." Cloud had been furious at the time, he'd _known_ that Sephiroth was meant to be his, but now, looking back, he could understand why the Triumvirate had insisted on that confirmation.

oxOX()XOxo

Sephiroth focused his attention almost completely on Cloud as soon as his lord came up beside him. No one would think it was at all odd for him to be focused on Cloud, and it meant he didn't have to work at being polite to the other guests. None of them had been openly rude to him, but there'd been a coldness and distance that had made it abundantly clear how unwelcome he was, and kept him from relaxing. But now he could relax a bit, let Cloud take the lead and defer to him completely, the way a good consort was _supposed_ to.

"Any problems beloved?" Cloud reached up to rest one hand on the bared nape of Sephiroth's neck as he spoke, softly enough that even the warrior caste who'd come with him would be straining to hear his words.

"None now that I am by your side." And it was true, Sephiroth could feel the strain of the past three hours spent on his guard, trying to catch any carelessly dropped hints that could be turned to his lord's advantage and avoid dropping hints of his own, melt away with that simple touch. He let his eyes fall shut as Cloud drew his head down for a swift, but deep, kiss, ignoring everyone around them for those few moments.

"You should have come to me then." A bare breath as Cloud allowed him to draw away, but he softened the reprimand with a smile before raising his voice a little. "We need to find Arvan and say goodnight to him, before we leave."

"Yes, of course." It would be extremely rude not to, and despite their clear distaste for him, no one had offered Sephiroth or Cloud that level of insult here, not the guests, and _certainly_ not anyone affiliated with Arvan's household. Sephiroth was _tempted_ to make a sarcastic comment to that effect, but he knew better than that, just as he couldn't point out that it would be seen as impudent or weak of him to go running to his lord for protection from a few cold words and looks.

It didn't take too long for them to find Arvan and say goodbye to him, and Sephiroth made a point of staying right beside Cloud until they had to separate to mount their chocobos.

"That...wasn't as much of an ordeal as I half expected it to be. At least it wasn't too bad for me. What about you Sephiroth?"

"I...couldn't relax until you came to collect me." Sephiroth would have preferred to wait until they got home to discuss Arvan's gathering, but it wasn't as if they were going to be saying anything they needed to keep private. "It reminded me a bit of sentry duty, when I was fighting in Wutai." Or dealing with some of Hojo's lab assistants, and trying to work out if Hojo actually _had_ authorised whatever 'tests' they wanted to do on him. "But no, it wasn't as bad as I'd feared it would be. Everyone was polite at least, but not friendly, not like the other times you've accepted invitations."

"I wish I could say that I wouldn't accept more invitations like that, but I can't. It's my duty not to display too much favouritism among my nobles. But...if you'd prefer I could leave you behind when you aren't specifically mentioned on an invitation."

"You _can't_!" Sephiroth reined his chocobo to a halt in shock, only urging him back into motion when he realised Morgan had been forced to swerve around them. "Cloud, _please_, if you do that it will make it look as if you don't trust me, or as if I've done something wrong. It's my duty to accompany you to things like this, and my enjoyment or lack thereof really isn't a factor in whether I should or not." It would make it even harder for him to deal with the nobles who hated him so much if he seemed to be neglecting his duty, and he desperately wanted to avoid giving them any further ammunition against him.

"It's alright Sephiroth, if it matters that much to you then I won't try to leave you behind unless I absolutely have to." Cloud rode closer to him, leaning over to rest the back of his hand against Sephiroth's cheek in a move that would have been dangerous for anyone else to try, because of the precarious position it required. "I just thought that perhaps I could spare you this, even if I can't avoid it myself."

"Thank you for making the offer, but you can't spare me." Sephiroth nuzzled against Cloud's hand for a moment before he pulled back to ride properly again. "And as I said, no one was out and out rude to me. Not like Isis is sometimes."

"That gives me an idea." There was a speculative pleasure in Cloud's voice, and Sephiroth wondered if he should ask for more details. "No, I won't tell you what it is yet, give me some time to see if it's reasonable, and _then_ I'll tell you about it. Even if it _is_ possible, I won't be able to put it into action until Aeris is an adult."

"Aeris has plans for when she doesn't need Isis anymore as well."

"Then I'll have to remember to consult with her too." There was something darkly predatory in Cloud's voice that made Sephiroth shiver with arousal, and he let his mind wander over just what his lord might choose to do with him to assuage that arousal when they got home.


End file.
